Building a Global Ecosphere: An Interview with MySQL's CEO

MySQL presents a textbook case for executing a winning Open Source business strategy with as much brute energy as the Norse creation myth. Before there was Asgard and the Rainbow Bridge, fire fused with ice to bring forth life in an abyss draped in eternal twilight. In the land of man, the furnace of relational calculus tempered by cold bottom-line logic forged the rising B-school legend, MySQL AB. Start with a painstakingly practical Swedish database company; put a maniacally dedicated Suomen samurai at the helm; and you have the makings of an epic success saga.

Leading that business strategy is Merten Mickos, a marketing workaholic that knows his technology and is an outspoken champion of Open Source. He was appointed CEO last year in May to bring business growth to MySQL AB. On one of his trips last month, Mickos sat down with Open in an extended conversation spanning the current state of database technology to the future state of Open Source in the IT market.